Page 64 of Our Vicious Descent
Elise’s brows knitted together in confusion. “No. I jumped after you.”
“I dove? But I hate swimming,” Layla muttered.
“Oh, Layla. We didn’t just go swimming.” Elise looked around, as if searching for something. Her gaze settled on Layla’s again. “What happens if you don’t feed for too long? I thought you were supposed to be extremely volatile right now. This is the quietest I’ve ever seen you.”
Layla nodded slowly. “Death.”
Panic lit Elise’s eyes. “Can you sit up?”
“No,” Layla breathed. “I’m not sure I can move.”
Elise let out a heavy breath of concern and barely contained panic. She reached into her bodice, and the gesture reminded Layla of when she had done the same thing earlier. But this time she pulled out a knife instead of bullets.
Layla tried to laugh, but she was too weak for it to come out as anything more than a heavy breath. “What else do you have in there?”
The Saint girl ignored her question. She grimaced as she cut into her palm, drawing a thick stream of blood from her flesh. Then she held it over Layla’s mouth and allowed the blood to drip into her face. “Shut up and drink. Please.”
Layla did not need to be commanded more than once. The moment the blood hit her lips and she lapped at it, her heart rate picked up. More and more strength returned to her body with each swallow, despite her only managing to get a few drops of blood. It was not enough. Layla worried it never would be when it came to Elise. Truthfully, she could have fed on her for an eternity and never been satisfied. Her blood restarted her heart and any long-dead hopes Layla had once had.
Once her strength had returned enough, she sat up, grabbing Elise’s hand. Layla ran her tongue along her fingers first, where the blood had streamlined into her mouth, then once all of it had been licked up, she followed the trail to the cut in her palm. Layla could have remained like this forever. If cravings were an act of devotion, Layla would have sat at Elise’s altar for an eternity. She looked up from the heiress’s hand and regarded Elise with a look of ravenous desire. Their eyes met with lust, Elise’s soft and brown, Layla’s molten gold. She pressed a kiss to Elise’s wrist, lingering on the pulse point and the way her blood pressure seemed to jump beneath her touch. The way Elise tasted and felt—Layla was certain she would never tire of any of it.
She tugged on Elise’s hand, pulling her down to her. The moment their bodies met, with Layla’s back against the damp sand and Elise sprawled on top of her, Layla sank her fangs into her throat. That familiar liberation and blinding pleasure filled her again as Elise’s blood flowed into her mouth. No matter her almost dying moments ago, and her fear of losing Elise, Layla isolated herself in this moment and blocked out everything that distracted her from this pleasure. With her linked to Elise like this, her blood the very thing holding them together, Layla could have died happy. She felt Elise writhing above her, her hand coming down to fist in the sand beside them. Layla dragged her fingers down from the nape of Elise’s neck to her spine, feeling the way her muscles bunched and tensed while her back curved under her own bliss.
A soft moan fluttered in Layla’s ear, and she retracted her fangs to kiss Elise’s throat. It was just faint enough to be a gentle reminder that Layla was in control and their frenzy was more than just carnality. She let Elise pull back to look at her, but the girl’s arms buckled, and she fell onto Layla, laughing breathlessly. Every bit of exposed skin Layla’s fingers brushed over felt hot and feverish. Her own nerves heated at the thought of Elise enjoying herself just as much as she was, and suddenly, all she wanted was Elise’s pleasure on her tongue. Even with the taste of her blood still filling her mouth, all Layla could think about was the way Elise had reacted to her bite—how her body had curled into Layla’s and begged for more without uttering a single word. Now she needed all of Elise.
“Feeling better, I assume?” Elise asked. A smile curved her lips, and the light in her eyes flared like stars.
Layla finally managed to smile back properly. She gripped Elise’s hips, her fingers brushing over the curves as she leaned into her. “What told you that?”
“I thought you might consume me. It was a powerful bite.” Elise lowered her mouth to Layla’s ear and whispered, “I liked it.”
Layla was at the mercy of Elise’s words and actions. She knew if she let Elise do anything else to her, they would both end up in a less-than-holy position tonight. But if the events of the last few hours had told Layla anything, it was that nothing was guaranteed—most of all the future. If Layla believed she might not wake up to another day where she could secure more memories with Elise and see her pretty smile again, then she wanted to make the most of this moment they were in now. So, when Elise moved back to look at Layla again, Layla lunged forward to capture her mouth with her own. Their kisses turned frantic in an instant, the blood on Layla’s lips slipping between their mouths. She might have inhaled Elise, relishing in every groan she released in response to Layla’s touches. Her hands roamed Elise’s body, and she felt her own core heating with an impatient desire that only increased as Elise kissed her harder. Her lips had parted now, and Layla traced her with her tongue, feeling every part of Elise’s heat.
Layla pulled back only to drop her lips to Elise’s throat once more. She trailed over the fresh bite mark, lapping up the stray drops of blood and sealing the two holes with a gentle lick. The fabric ofher dress tickled her chin, and Layla released a grunt of frustration. Without thinking, she reached up to grip the edge of Elise’s bodice and tore it. While the thing still remained on her body to cover her in necessary areas, the confinement had been released, and it no longer obstructed Layla’s path to Elise’s collarbones. Elise gasped at the act of desperation, then laughed. The sound was among the most beautiful forms of music to Layla’s ears, rivaled only by the compositions Elise herself had made.
Layla quickly drowned her senses in the softness of Elise’s skin. Her lips trailed over her collarbones, her teeth scraping over them and drawing soft moans from Elise. When she got to her throat again and the path of blood that had fallen from the bite mark into the space between her breasts, Layla’s stomach clenched.
She looked up at Elise, pressing her fingers into the juncture between her neck and collarbones, then slowly circling her throat. Elise smiled down at her and leaned her head back. She let her hair fall over her shoulders so the moon could shine down on her bare skin—mostly bare. The blood had covered a large deal of it, and Layla thought she had never seen anything more magnificent than the sight of her Elise covered in it.
Her fingers tightened around her throat, feeling the fluttering pulse of her blood beneath her warm skin. “Elise,” Layla murmured.
Elise’s smile widened. She placed her hands on Layla’s chest, stroking over the ends of her collarbones. “You’re stunning,” she said on a heavy breath.
Hearing those words from Elise and seeing her on top of herwhile wearing blood like it was her armor did things to Layla that she wasn’t sure she could explain. The slight swell of her lips and the messiness of her hair from Layla’s ravishing made every part of her body heat to indescribable levels. She smirked, and her teeth dug into her lower lip. “Nice girl. You’re sinfully sweet. Such a saint.”
Elise leaned down again, letting her lips brush Layla’s throat as she whispered, “I let a monster at my throat, and I liked it. I’m not a saint.”
Layla laughed. She pulled Elise closer to her and breathed, “You taste so good, my love. I truly believe just your love is enough to quench my thirst forever.” Her tongue flicked out to lick the trail of blood between her breasts. Elise shivered beneath her touch, and Layla felt her heart race on the tip of her tongue.
“Forever?” Elise asked shakily.
Layla heard the lasting apprehension in her voice—the same apprehension she had heard when they had spoken outside the lair only a few days ago. But this time, Layla did not feel fear or hesitation in promising Elise an eternity. Their forever began with each other. The clock of eternity had struck its start when they had first met each other, and it would not fail them. “Forever,” Layla breathed back as she kissed Elise again. This time, she flipped them over to guide the kiss. And as she pressed Elise into the sand and promised her beauty in the things they did beneath the moonlight, Layla tried hard not to think about the amount of her own blood that Elise might have consumed.
Forever would be different for them. But it would exist in its own time. And that was all that mattered.
***
Elise’s heart raced long after they emerged from the beach. Even as they walked the dock in heated silence, Layla strolling calmly with her hands hidden beneath the pleats of her gown and Elise biting her lip at the thought of everything those particular hands had been doing to her just minutes ago, Elise could not force her blushing to relax.
